Parandur airport project grounded, hunt on for new site; 5th terminal for Chennai on cards

CHENNAI: Ending all speculations and discussions over the fate of the Parandur greenfield airport project, Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Monday announced that his government has decided to drop the plan to set up the second airport for the city on the farm lands and would instead explore new sites for it.

Even as he said a second airport was necessary to meet the growing requirements of the Chennai Metropolitan Area, support industrial development, cater to the increase in passenger traffic, and augment cargo transportation, Vijay accused the previous DMK regime of finalising Parandur as the site despite its impact on agricultural land and the largescale relocation it would entail.

Making a statement under Rule 110, the chief minister said detailed consultations were held with senior government officials, domain experts, and academicians before arriving at the decision.

He added that new sites with minimal impact on agricultural land and residential areas were being considered and that the location would be finalised soon after feasibility studies by expert teams.

Vijay also announced the expansion of Chennai airport along with the Airports Authority of India (AAI). As part of this, a fifth terminal would be constructed on the north-western side, with a capacity to handle an additional 20 million passengers per annum. Road and flyover infrastructure would also be developed to improve connectivity to the airport.

Parandur project to be abandoned

The Chennai airport currently handles around 30 million passengers a year, which would increase to 35 million once the under-construction third terminal become operational. With the proposed fifth terminal, the airport's total handling capacity would increase to 55 million passengers a year, he said.

Vijay also recalled that he had opposed the Parandur airport project at his party's first State conference at Vikravandi in October 2024 and had later visited Eganapuram and other villages in January 2025 to support the protests against the proposed airport.

"As promised, the steps initiated to establish the new airport in Parandur will be abandoned by this government," Vijay said.

The chief minister said he stood firmly with the people opposing the Parandur project, which covered 12 surrounding villages.

Describing farmers as the backbone of the country, Vijay said he supported their efforts to protect agricultural land and livelihoods. While supporting industrial development and acknowledging the role of airports in economic growth, he maintained that Parandur was not an appropriate location for the proposed airport.